Ezekiel 20:5

5 And you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of my choosing Israel {I swore} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and {I swore} to them, {saying}, 'I [am] Yahweh your God.'

Ezekiel 20:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 20:5

And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God
Here begins the account of their fathers; of God's unmerited goodness to them, and of their sins and transgressions against him, and how it fared with them: in the day when I chose Israel;
to be his peculiar people, above all people on the face of the earth; when he declared his choice of them, and made it appear that he had chosen them, and distinguished them, by special blessings and favours bestowed on them: and lifted up mine hand to the seed of the house of Jacob;
the posterity of Jacob or Israel, to whom the Lord swore that he would do such and such things for them; of which the lifting up the hand was a token; it is a gesture used in swearing, ( Daniel 12:7 ) ; and so the Targum,

``and I swore unto them by my word:''

and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt:
by his name Jehovah; by the prophets he sent unto them, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; and by the miracles he wrought among them: when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I [am] the Lord your God:
making promise of it, declaring it unto them, confirming it with an oath; see ( Hebrews 6:17 Hebrews 6:18 ) .

Ezekiel 20:5 In-Context

3 "Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Are] you coming to consult me? {As I live}, I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!" ' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

4 Will you judge them? Will you judge [them], son of man? Make known to them the detestable things of their ancestors.

5 And you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of my choosing Israel {I swore} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and {I swore} to them, {saying}, 'I [am] Yahweh your God.'

6 On that day {I swore} to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt to [the] land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey--it [is the most] beautiful of all of the lands.

7 Then I said to them, '[Let] each [one] throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I [am] Yahweh your God.'

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "and I raised my hand"
• [b] Literally "and I raised my hand"
• [c] Literally "to say"